I’d ignored the comment, disgusted at the time. Now I stood with a switch in my hand, prepared to subdue her with punishment. While she sorely needed a reminder that her freedom had been stripped away, I questioned the reasons as well as the methods needed.

  Ivan’s words were in direct conflict to those of my father. I’d never thought about the difference before this, but I felt as if I’d reached a fork in a road, even more so than before. Whatever choice I made, it would stand for the rest of my life. Who was I kidding? I wasn’t like my father. I’d never been.

  “Stand facing the tree. Wrap your arms around the trunk,” I instructed.

  “I hate you.” This time her three repetitive words had a resounding effect on me, even though they shouldn’t.

  “It’s to be expected.”

  Walker laughed, then obeyed me, fisting her hands before hugging the tree. Her breathing remained ragged, but in yet another act of defiance, she straightened her spine, spreading her legs apart.

  Goddamn it, I could barely think straight, my needs overpowering my ability to process what I was about to do. The wind was strong enough it carried the scent of her unwanted desire straight across my nose. All I could think about was driving my cock into her mouth.

  Her pussy.

  Her tight little asshole.

  What in the hell had I turned into?

  As I approached, I fingered the thin reed, taking deep breaths in order to focus. I eased her long strands of hair away from her shoulders, running my fingers down the length of her spine, slowly sliding them to the crack of her ass. While she flinched, rising onto her toes, she remained in position.

  Like a good little girl.

  A part of me, the portion buried deep inside under a thick layer of chains remained on edge, but my hunger outweighed everything else. I’d considered myself a sadistic man my entire adult life, unable to find solace or satisfaction in what others considered a normal relationship. Providing discipline had become a way of life, finding women who not only tolerated but also craved a firm hand.

  This woman, this gorgeous vibrant girl had awakened something else inside of me. But this was my life, and I had no other choices. I slid my hand between her legs, cupping her bare pussy, allowing myself to finger her clit for a few seconds. She was wet and hot, my intimate touch forcing a single moan from her mouth.

  I took two steps away, taking a deep breath before snapping my wrist. The moment the branch sliced across her bottom, I was almost euphoric. When she allowed a muffled whimper, I raked my hand through my hair, my needs becoming insatiable. The whoosh through the crisp air was invigorating, my pulse increasing. When I switched her several times in rapid succession, she jerked away from the tree, throwing her back her head.

  “Asshole. I’m not lying to you!”

  “That’s beside the point, Walker. You broke the rules.”

  “You abducted me.”

  After tightening my grip on the switch, I cracked it across her bottom four times then against the tops of her thighs twice.

  “Oh. Oh! That hurts,” she managed, her entire body shaking, her words barely a whisper. She kicked out her leg involuntarily then slammed her foot against the ground, wiggling back and forth.

  I brushed my hand from one side of her buttocks to the other, enjoying the building heat as well as the crimson color floating across her skin. I had difficulty focusing as I snapped my wrist several more times, making certain I covered every inch of her bottom.

  She threw a look over her shoulder, snarling as her eyes narrowed. “One day I will kill you.”

  “That would go against everything you are as a human being.”

  “As if I care. You don’t own me.”

  Her words had a profound effect on me, rattling and collapsing the rest of my resolve. “You’re wrong, Walker. In my line of work, I take what I want without reservation. Whoever you were no longer matters. At this point, your former life doesn’t exist. If you ask me why, I’m happy to tell you. You’re mine. You belong to me.”

  Saying the words was more profound than I could have imagined. It felt right, damn good in my system. I wanted her and as I’d already told her, I took what I wanted.

  There could be no additional second guessing. There would be no turning back.

  “Never,” she whispered.

  I closed my eyes for a few seconds before switching her a few additional times, finally unable to hold back my needs.

  After dropping the switch, I moved closer, pulling her into my arms. “I can’t wait to be inside of you, Walker. Fucking you. Using you. Over and over again.”

  Reaching out, when I pulled her against my chest, cupping the side of her face as I lowered my head, I realized I’d made the choice. I’d chosen the path of least resistance, even if a small part of me continued to try to reclaim what might be left of my soul.

  Power.

  Money.

  Influence.

  That’s all I’d ever wanted.

  I’d found it, exceling in every aspect of how I handled business for my family’s organization, relishing in the perks that being in command of a portion of an empire had afforded me. There’d been no questioning my decisions, no sense of personal retribution.

  And I’d been happy.

  Or so I’d thought.

  Until Walker had dropped into my life.

  CHAPTER 10

  Walker

  Choices.

  Everyone made thousands of them in their lives, some meaning nothing while others altered our future. I’d always wondered what it would be like to have a time machine, finding out how my life would have been if I’d made other decisions. During the heated exchange, I’d seen something in Maksim’s eyes that indicated what I’d accused him of had been right.

  At least to some degree.

  He truly was a brutal man.

  But there’d also been something else, a fleeting moment where I’d seen someone else buried deep inside of him, a man who just might surprise me.

  However amazing that moment of self-doubt had seemed, a tortured man questioning his past, he’d shifted into the cold, dark bastard I’d faced in my doorway what seemed like a lifetime ago. Why did I continue to want to try reconnecting to the powerful and intriguing man who’d sparked something deep inside?

  Maybe I didn’t know what the hell I was thinking. Falling for my abductor was absurd in any language. He was a criminal after all, which meant he could be a consummate liar.

  To hear that he was related to the mob kingpin was horrifying and that should have squelched whatever sick connection I’d felt with the man.

  But it hadn’t.

  The moment he dragged me forward against the explosive heat of his chest, I’d found it difficult to breathe.

  As he pulled me onto my toes, sliding one hand under my aching bottom, I couldn’t seem to stop shaking. Sadly, the reason I was trembling had little to do with the pain I’d endured while being spanked like some wayward child. I remained electrified from his touch, which infuriated me even more than before.

  A snarl curled across his upper lip as he held me, his eyes darting back and forth. What the hell was he searching for? His chest heaved as he lowered his head ever so slowly until I longed for the softness of his lips shoved against mine, until his rugged fragrance spilled into every cell, knocking me sideways.

  Until all I could think about was having his cock shoved deep inside of me.

  Blinking didn’t help.

  Shutting down my thoughts couldn’t save me.

  Pretending I wasn’t aroused was next to impossible.

  My nipples were hard as diamonds.

  The scent of my feminine wiles stronger than ever.

  And my skin was shimmering from the electrified sensations shooting through me.

  “Krasivaya zhenshchina,” he muttered as he breathed from one side of my face to the other. “Beautiful woman,” he repeated as he brushed his lips across mine.

  I closed my eyes, allowing his words to linger in the forefront of my mind. I longed to be anywhere but here, enjoying an amazing moment with a man I cared about.

  You could care about him.

  No. That was bullshit. No way.

  When I let off a single involuntary moan, he took that as a sign of excitement, capturing my lips as a lover would do, slowly opening and closing my mouth. Tingling, I gripped his arms, kneading his solid muscles as he pushed his tongue just inside, taking his time exploring as I started to shiver, his guttural sounds only adding to the intense yearning pooling inside of me.

  The kiss reeked of passion, a man taking his time to savor every moment, but within seconds, his brutal nature took over. He dominated my tongue, growling as the passion became more fervent, his hips grinding against mine.

  He slammed me against the tree, using the hard surface as leverage. I was electrified, my desire so intense that even the savagery of his actions didn’t bother me. I wanted more.

  Craved more.

  The draw to him left me dizzy, my desires vivid and terrifying. When he yanked first one hand over my head then the other, wrapping his fingers around both wrists and stretching me to my full height, I opened my legs in response. Even as a wave of embarrassment brought a red-hot flush across every inch my naked skin, the dirty, sinful act only continued to add current to my arousal.

  Maksim raked his fingers down my side, swirling the tip of a single finger around my nipple before sliding it further down. I bucked against him, arching my back when he tickled my belly button. Then he continued his torment, slipping his entire hand between my legs, fingering my clit as the kiss continued.

  There was nothing I could do to stop him, although only a small percentage of me wanted to any longer. He had me under some kind of crazy spell, all rational thoughts shoved aside.

  When he broke the kiss, pulling away by only a few inches, I took several shallow breaths, his taste still lingering in my mouth. I could tell his hunger was only increasing, his pupils dilated, the color much darker than usual.

  As he cocked his head, he slipped several fingers past my swollen folds, a slight smile crossing his face. “Fucking you will be a pleasure.”

  “One you don’t deserve.”

  “Maybe you’re right, my little bird, but that no longer matters.” He was so damn possessive in everything he did.

  His words.

  His actions.

  The way he fucked me.

  And his hunger was all off the charts, the man losing his patience. As he tore at his belt buckle, he issued a low and husky string of growls and nipped my lower lip, sucking on my tender tissue. I rocked hard against him, struggling with the tight hold he had on my arms. In truth, I wanted to feel him, sliding my hands underneath his shirt, able to touch his muscular chest. My mind was clouded with the ridiculous need to wrap my fingers around his cock, masturbating him until my hand was covered in strings of hot cum.

  But he had other things in mind.

  As soon as he freed his shaft, he positioned the tip against my pussy lips, hesitating only long enough to shove his hand against the bark of the tree. Then he impaled me, driving so deep and so hard that he pitched me against the tree. I wrapped my legs around his, still fighting him as he pulled out, plunging into me again.

  And again.

  As he developed a brutal rhythm, his thrusts becoming more relentless, I lolled my head. My throat was tight, my heart racing. A part of me wanted to scream but my instinct told me there was no one close enough to hear my cries. I’d taken a quick glimpse of his house before racing into the forest. He lived in the freaking middle of nowhere. Even blindfolded, I’d been able to tell that easily. There’d been no stoplights for miles before he’d made a turn. It had been open road and little else.

  No noise.

  No traffic of any kind.

  No safety net.

  I was on my own. Even if Jessie had discovered I was missing, hunting down the detective in charge of the murder investigation, I hadn’t been gone long enough for anyone to take my disappearance seriously. They might have thought I’d left my condo on purpose, unable to handle the fact a murder had occurred in the middle of my living room.

  My… living room.

  My benefactor’s expensive, lush condo.

  A man who I didn’t know and probably didn’t want to either even if he was still alive. Was it true what Maksim had told me? Had he been engaged with the Russian mob? Had my father? Everything was jumbled together.

  Maksim muttered something else in Russian, drawing my attention once again. The feel of having his thick cock buried so deep inside me was breathtaking, my body on fire. I couldn’t seem to take my eyes off his and the way he was looking at me was a clear indication that he believed I belonged to him.

  Did all mafia assholes think they could take what they wanted without asking? Was that some perk or code of honor? I almost laughed at my thoughts but shut them down entirely as another sweeping wave of vibrations shoved me closer to a mind-blowing orgasm.

  “I will fuck you when and how I want to,” he whispered in my ear.

  “Uh-huh.”

  He rose onto the balls of his feet, driving so brutally that my back was scraped against the roughness of the tree. But I didn’t care. His eyes narrowed as he continued his barbaric actions, the same damn smile remaining on his face. He knew exactly what he was doing to me, how wet and tight I was, my pussy muscles clamping down against the thick invasion.

  I tossed my head back and forth as an orgasm rushed closer and closer. I shouldn’t give him the satisfaction of knowing what he was doing to me, but I couldn’t control my body’s reaction to him any longer.

  “Oh… Mmm…”

  “You’re so wet. So tight. Come for me, Walker. Slicken my cock with your sweet juice.”

  His commanding words were too intensely delicious to ignore. I’d never felt so filthy in my entire life, but being in the middle of a forest, surrendering to a man who intended me harm was a crazy, sick kind of aphrodisiac. Within seconds, the electricity bursting through me doubled, a powerful climax sweeping through me like a tidal wave.

  “Yes. Yes. Yes!”

  He chuckled, the sound seductive and erotic, his hot breath lingering against my skin. Even the sound of his voice was so warm and inviting, pulling me into a moment of ecstasy.

  One orgasm blew me away, but when another erupted from the darkest place inside of me, the rapture was unlike anything I’d ever experienced before. I lifted my head, but as I opened my mouth on a scream, I was shocked that it was silent. It was as if the man had stolen that from me.

  Maksim refused to stop, fucking me like some crazed beast. I couldn’t stop shaking, exhausted from the amazing moment of raw bliss. Blinking furiously, I tried to focus, struggling to breathe as his actions intensified. I could tell by the strain on his face that he was doing everything in his power to hold back, elongating the moment.

  A laugh bubbled up from my throat as I squeezed my muscles, breaking his concentration and his practiced resolve. Within seconds, his entire body was shaking violently, his guttural sounds no longer human. After several additional savage thrusts, he threw his head back and roared.

  And all I could think about was what was going to happen next. I’d defied him. I’d escaped. I’d run.

  But at least he had a reason to keep me alive.

  Finding the money.

  The letter. My instinct told me that the mysterious man had left a clue in the note my mother had refused to read. If only I could get my hands on it then maybe I could use it to bargain for my life. Why couldn’t I remember where the hell it was? I closed my eyes, fighting the craziness of the moment, my skin still tingling.

  When he finally pulled away, his demeanor changed once again, the cold, brutal killer returning. Damn it. Why did he continue changing, acting as if I was nothing but a thing?

  Does it matter? Really? Why do you care?

  “What happens now?” I asked as he tugged his pants over his hips, yanking on the zipper.

  He leaned in, lowering his head, this time studying me as if I was nothing more than an object. “Now, I put you in a place you won’t be able to escape from as I determine whether or not you’re lying to me. As I said before, if you are, then nothing will prevent me from handling business in a way you won’t find pleasant.”

  “You mean you’re going to torture me for more information before you kill me. Right?”

  “If necessary.”

  “Because you’re some compliant soldier to a horrible man.” I could tell I’d pushed another button when he slammed his hand against the tree with enough force I jumped.

  “Because that’s the way things must be handled in my world, Walker. When people disrespect our organization, they receive swift punishment. I suggest you make certain you haven’t left anything out before we get to our destination. I won’t ask you again. Your fate is in your hands.”

  With that, he grabbed my clothes from the ground before tossing me over his shoulder as if I weighed nothing.

  I didn’t bother struggling. It was no use. Where the hell would I go completely naked, barefoot, and with no clue where I was?

  Straight to hell.

  I was shocked he carried me several hundred yards through the dense forest, acting as if I weighed nothing. I could tell the terrain changed, a small clearing appearing out of nowhere, although I couldn’t see anything.

  At least at first.

  As I lifted my head, I blinked several times to understand what I was seeing. A barn. In the middle of nowhere?

  After he approached the building, he pressed in a code then pushed a door open, flicking a switch a few seconds later. After he dropped me to my feet, I backed away, almost tumbling to the floor, the wood rough under my bare feet.

  “Look around you, little bird. There is nowhere for you to run.”